IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains

Focus)- 21st November 2018

Archives

(PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS)

Impact of demonetization on famers 

Part of: GS Mains III – Indian Economy and issues related to it; Social/Welfare issue

In news:

According to a report submitted by the Union Agriculture Ministry to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance –

• Farmers were badly hit by demonetization, as many were unable to buy seeds without enough money.
• Demonetisation came at a time when farmers were engaged in either selling their Kharif crops or sowing the Rabi crops. Both these operations needed huge amounts of cash, which demonetisation removed from the market.
• Even bigger landlords faced a problem such as paying daily wages to the farmers and purchasing agriculture needs for growing crops.

India, Russia to build stealth frigates

Part of: GS Prelims and Mains II and III – India and the world; International Relations; Defence deal

In news:

• Goa Shipyard Ltd. signs ₹500 mn deal with Russia’s Rosoboronexport to locally manufacture two stealth frigates with technology transfer.
• While the ships are built by Russia, the engines are supplied by Zorya Nashproekt of Ukraine.

Do you know?

• In October 2016, India and Russia signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for four Krivak or Talwar stealth frigates — two to be procured directly from Russia and two to be built by GSL.
• Of late, GSL has maintained a good track record. It has delivered 28 ships ahead of schedule in the past four years.
• India recently signed a $1 bn deal with Russia for direct purchase of two frigates. The basic structures of the two frigates are already ready at the Yantar shipyard in Russia and will be finished now.

Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana or “Saubhagya” scheme

Part of: GS Prelims and Mains II – Government schemes and Policies; Rural development

In news:

• International Energy Agency finds India’s rural electrification one of the greatest success stories this year.
• Saubhagya Scheme aims to achieve universal household electrification in all parts of the country.
• The scheme primarily benefits rural areas, which have vast majority of households without power connections.
• The beneficiaries for free electricity connection would be identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data.

The expected outcome of the Scheme is as follows:

• Environmental upgradation by substitution of Kerosene for lighting purposes
• Improvement education services
• Better health services
• Enhanced connectivity through radio, television, mobiles, etc.
• Increased economic activities and jobs
• Improved quality of life especially for women

Persons in news:

Justice Kuldip Singh Award to former Supreme Court Judge Vikramjit Sen

In news:

• Former Supreme Court Judge Vikramjit Sen was awarded Justice Kuldip Singh Award by Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu.
• The award was given to Sen during the 104th birth anniversary celebrations of former Supreme Court Justice Judge V.R. Krishna Iyer.

Do you know?

• Justice Iyer (former Supreme Court Judge) had also served as a Cabinet Minister in the first Communist government led by E.M.S Namboodiripad in Kerala.

Miscellaneous:

1. Bhudhaar scheme – Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched ‘Bhudhaar’, which will consist of an 11-digit unique figure aimed at enabling easy identification of details of the land parcel.
2. 33% reservation for women – Odisha House passes 33% reservation for women in Legislative Assemblies and Parliament.
3. India and Vietnam ties – India and Vietnam to launch their first “Bilateral Maritime Security Dialogue”. Both the countries “share a vision for the Indo-Pacific”.

(MAINS FOCUS)

HISTORY/NATIONAL

TOPIC:General studies 1

• History of the world and India: World war I
  
• Indian economy: Industrialization
  

World War I: a turning point for the Indian economy

Introduction

• The centenary celebration of the end of World War I has mostly focused on its political impact on India and the world.
• Less attention has been lavished on the economic impact of the conflagration. World War I ended the first era of globalization.

Political impacts of World War I

• Some of the political impacts were; the implosion of multinational empires that led to the creation of new ethnic nations in Europe, as well as the communist capture of power in Russia.
• In India, the return of Punjabi soldiers after the end of the war also galvanised political activity against colonial rule in that province, which became the spark for wider protests.

Economic impacts of World War I

• World War I also proved to be a turning point for the Indian economy.
• The economic historian Tirthankar Roy has explained in his work how the British engagement in World War I had a complicated impact on India.
• There was a sharp increase in demand for Indian goods in Britain as production capabilities in Britain itself were diverted to the war effort.
• However, the disruption in shipping lanes because of the war also meant that Indian industry faced dislocations because of the shortage of inputs that were earlier imported from Britain and Germany.
• There was excess demand as well as supply bottlenecks.
• Another result was inflation. Industrial prices nearly doubled in the six years after 1914.
• Accelerating prices benefitted Indian industry, as was also the case during World War II a few decades later.
• Farm prices rose as well, but at a slower pace than industrial prices. The internal terms of trade moved against agriculture.
• This trend continued for most of the next few decades, and especially during the collapse in global commodity prices during the Great Depression.
• The rapid rise in industrial prices as well as improving internal terms of trade for Indian industry benefitted industrial enterprises.

Shift in British Policy towards India

• The war years also saw a shift in colonial policy away from laissez faire to a more interventionist approach—a shift that had a profound effect on the subsequent policy framework.
• There were two primary forces driving this shift.
• First, the British realised that their most important colony needed strategic industrial depth if it had to be successfully held during disruptions such as a world war.
• Second, the long nationalist campaign for the state to support Indian industrialization began to bear fruit. The colonial state finally accepted the need for a specific policy framework to support industrial investment in India.

Indian Industrial Report 1918

• In March 1916, Ibrahim Rahimtoola proposed in the Imperial Legislative Council that a committee should be appointed to examine what policies were needed to promote industrial development in India.
• The Viceroy accepted the proposal. There were four Indian members in the group that wrote the Indian Industrial Report that was made public in 1918, or 100 years ago.
• These Indian members were Fazulbhoy Currimbhoy, R.N. Mookerjee, D.J. Tata and Madan Mohan Malaviya.

Key Points of the report

• The Indian Industrial Report recognised the need of state support for industrial growth.
• It did not include the original demand by Rahimtoola that the power to impose import, export and excise duties to promote domestic industrial investment should be shifted from London to New Delhi.
• Fiscal autonomy was rejected.
• The conclusion of the report was: “A powerful and well-directed stimulus is needed to start the economic development of India along the path of progress. Such a stimulus can only be supplied by an organised system of technical, financial and administrative assistance.”

The dissent note

• More powerful than the official report itself was the scholarly dissent note written by Malaviya. He marshalled data from Indian economic history as well as the recent experience of late industrializers such as Germany and Japan to argue for a more meaningful government support for Indian industrial growth.
• This was at a time when mainstream Indian nationalism was enthusiastic about rapid industrialisation, and a few years before the Gandhian idea of village self-sufficiency took hold of the public imagination.
• The dissent note written by Malaviya is a treat to read even 100 years later.
• His protest was not wasted. The next few years after 1918 would see the setting up of a Fiscal Commission to provide some element of fiscal autonomy for India as well as a Tariffs Commission that would offer temporary protection for a handful of industries that had been carefully identified based on the comparative advantage.

Conclusion

• What happened in the six years after 1914 had an impact over the longer term.
• The extraordinary profits earned during World War I provided the initial capital for several Indian industrial groups that would become dominant in the years to independence.
• The acceptance of state support for industrial development should be seen as the precursor of the more structured calls for national planning from political leaders as diverse as Jawaharlal Nehru, B.R. Ambedkar, V.D. Savarkar and Subhas Chandra Bose.

Connecting the dots:

• What were the social, economic and political impacts of the World War I on India? Examine briefly.

NATIONAL

TOPIC:General studies 2 and 3

• Social justice and empowerment of vulnerable sections of the society
  
• Inclusive growth
  
• Issues related to employment
  

Quota math: on Maharashtra’s Maratha reservation proposal

Introduction

The Maharashtra Cabinet has cleared the proposal to grant reservation to Marathas, though it is yet to be passed in the State Assembly.

Rationale behind reservation

• According to the cabinet the decision is in line with the recommendations of a State Backward Class Commission (SBCC) report which is yet to be made public.
• According to the cabinet, the SBCC report recommends reserving seats for Marathas under a new, separate Socially and Educationally Backward Class category as Marathas are socially and educationally backward, with minuscule representation in government services, and the State is liable to take action considering the “extraordinary and exceptional conditions”.

Is this reservation justified?

• Earlier also in 2014, a move to reserve 16% of seats in government jobs and educational institution was stayed by the Bombay High Court.
• Creating a separate category now would increase the overall quota beyond the 50% limit set by Supreme Court.
• According to critics the Cabinet’s decision is not for socio -economic reason but as a political exigency.
• The SBCC’s findings that a significant proportion of Marathas constitute a socially and educationally backward class do not match with available data.
• Like the Jats in Rajasthan and Patels in Gujarat, Marathas enjoy a socio-economic status similar to that of the forward classes (and castes) in Maharashtra.
• There is no reason to argue that Marathas face any social stigma that calls for affirmative action. Thus their demand for reservations is only to avail welfare benefits.
• Dominant communities only ask for reservation because they are unable to move up the economic ladder and don’t have adequate employment opportunities amid a sluggish agrarian economy.

Conclusion

As judicial scrutiny is bound to be brought to bear on the government’s decision, it will be well-advised to look at measures to alleviate the State’s prolonged agrarian distress and the lack of adequate jobs, problems that affect all sections of society.

Connecting the dots:

• What was the motive behind reservation policy designed by makers of the constitution? Critically examine the rising demands of reservation from forward classes.

(TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE)

Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section)

Note:

• Featured Comments and comments Up-voted by IASbaba are the “correct answers”.
• IASbaba App users – Team IASbaba will provide correct answers in comment section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers.

Q.1) Dongria Kondh tribe are indigenous community located in –

1. Odisha
2. Andhra Pradesh
3. West Bengal
4. Telangana

Q.2) ‘Saubhagya Web Portal’ has been launched by government of India to track

1. Gas connections in rural and urban households
2. Electrification of rural and urban households
3. Domestic violence in urban areas
4. Swachch Bharat Abhiyan

Q.3) Consider the following statement about VINBAX

1. VINBAX is joint military exercise between India and Vietnam.
2. VINBAX will be the first Bilateral Maritime Security Dialogue.

Select the correct statements

1. 1 Only
2. 2 Only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.4) Consider the following statements about Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana –“Saubhagya”

1. Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) is the nodal agency for the operationalisation of the scheme.
2. Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) have been subsumed under the ‘Saubhagya’ scheme.

Select the correct statements

1. 1 Only
2. 2 Only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.5) China is bordered with which of the following countries?

1. South Korea
2. Afghanistan
3. Vietnam

Select the correct statements

1. 1 and 2
2. 2 and 3
3. 1 and 3
4. All of the above

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