Daily Current Affairs : 17th, 18th & 19th December 2020

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Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

  1. Currency Manipulator Monitoring List
  2. Human Development Index
  3. Constitutional Right to Protest
  4. CMS-01
  5. Article 356
  6. E20 Fuel
  7. Solarwinds
  8. Facts for Prelims

1 . Currency Manipulator Monitoring List

Context : The U.S. Treasury labeled Switzerland and Vietnam as currency manipulators on Wednesday and added three new names, including India, to a watch list of countries it suspects of taking measures to devalue their currencies against the dollar.

About currency manipulator

  • This is a label given by the US government to countries it feels are engaging in “unfair currency practices” by deliberately devaluing their currency against the dollar.
  • The practice would mean that the country in question is artificially lowering the value of its currency to gain an unfair advantage over others.
  • This is because the devaluation would reduce the cost of exports from that country and artificially show a reduction in trade deficits as a result. 

What are the parameters used?

  • An economy meeting two of the three criteria in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 is placed on the Monitoring List. This includes:
    • A “significant” bilateral trade surplus with the US — one that is at least $20 billion over a 12-month period.
    • A material current account surplus equivalent to at least 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over a 12-month period.
    • “Persistent”, one-sided intervention — when net purchases of foreign currency totalling at least 2 percent of the country’s GDP over a 12 month period are conducted repeatedly, in at least six out of 12 months.
  • Once on the Monitoring List, an economy will remain there for at least two consecutive reports “to help ensure that any improvement in performance versus the criteria is durable and is not due to temporary factors,” according to the US treasury department.
  • The administration will also add and retain on the Monitoring List any major US trading partner that accounts for a “large and disproportionate” share of the overall US trade deficit, “even if that economy has not met two of the three criteria from the 2015 Act”.

Which are the other countries in the latest monitoring list?

  • The US Department of the Treasury Office of International Affairs, in its latest report to the US Congress, has included India, Taiwan and Thailand to its Monitoring List of major trading partners that “merit close attention” to their currency practices and macroeconomic policies.
  • Other countries in the latest list comprise China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Malaysia.
  • India was last included in the currency watchlist in October 2018, but removed from the list that came out in May 2019.
  • The designation of a country as a currency manipulator does not immediately attract any penalties, but tends to dent the confidence about a country in the global financial markets.

Why is India back in the Monitoring List again?

  • India, which has for several years maintained a “significant” bilateral goods trade surplus with the US, crossed the $20 billion mark, according to the latest report. Bilateral goods trade surplus totalled $22 billion in the first four quarters through June 2020.
  • Based on the central bank’s intervention data, India’s net purchases of foreign exchange accelerated notably in the second half of 2019.
  • Following sales during the initial onset of the pandemic, India sustained net purchases for much of the first half of 2020, which pushed net purchases of foreign exchange to $64 billion–or 2.4% of GDP–over the four quarters through June 2020.

2 . Human Development Index

Context : India dropped two ranks in the United Nations’ Human Development Index this year, standing at 131 out of 189 countries. However, if the Index were adjusted to assess the planetary pressures caused by each nation’s development, India would move up eight places in the ranking, according to the report.

About Human Development Report

  • Report was first launched in 1990 by the Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and Indian Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
  • Its goal was to place people at the center of the development process in terms of economic debate, policy and advocacy. Development was characterized by the provision of choices and freedoms resulting in widespread outcomes.
  • The Human Development Report is an independent report, commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and is the product of a selected team of leading scholars, development practitioners and members of the Human Development Report Office of UNDP. It is a report independent of the Administrator of the UNDP, as suggested by ul Haq.
  • Several new indices have been introduced over the years in different reports, including the Human Development Index, the Gender-related Development Index, the Gender Empowerment Measure, the Human Poverty Index. The Gender-related Development Index, the Gender Empowerment Measure and the Human Poverty Index were removed in 2010.
  • The 2010 Human Development Report introduced three new indices the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the Gender Inequality Index, and the Multidimensional Poverty Index. 

About 2020 Report

  • The 2020 Human Development Report explores a suite of metrics for measuring human development in the Anthropocene.
  • There are four dimensions and 21 indicators organized according to the Report’s findings, provides a glimpse into the complex interactions between people and ecosystems and helps monitor country progress towards easing planetary pressures and social imbalances.
  • The four dimensions are status of human development, energy systems, material cycles and transforming our future.
  • Part I of the report explores analytical, empirical and policy perspectives on how human development relates the Anthropocene. Part II considers the implications for action, discussing three key mechanisms for change: social norms and values, incentives and regulation, and nature-based human development. Part III proposes new metrics, including an adjustment to the Human Development Index to account for planetary pressures.

What does HDI measure?

  • The HDI measures aver­age achievement in three basic dimensions of human development — life expec­tancy, education and per capita income.

Which data sources are used for HDI computation?

  • Life expectancy at birth is provided by the UN Population Division in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA); mean years of schooling (MYS) is based on UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) educational attainment data, for countries for which UIS data are not available, Barro and Lee (2018) estimates were used; expected years of schooling (EYS) is provided by UIS; and GNI per capita (in 2011 $PPP) by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
  • For several countries, mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling are estimated from nationally representative household surveys, and for some countries GNI was obtained from the UN Statistical Division’s database – National Accounts Main Aggregates Database.

India’s Ranking

  • India slipped two spots to rank 131 among 189 countries in the 2020 human development index, a report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said. Human Development Index is the measure of a nation’s health, education, and standards of living.
  • While India is ranked 131, its neighbours Bhutan is ranked 129, Bangladesh 133, Nepal 142, and Pakistan 154, the report said. India had ranked 129 in 2018 in the index.
  • Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Iceland.

Details of the Ranking & Key observations in the report

  • According to the 2020 Human Development Report, life expectancy of Indians at birth in 2019 was 69.7 years
  • The report, published by the United Nations Development Programme shows India’s gross national income per capita fell to USD 6,681 in 2019 from USD 6,829 in 2018 on purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. Purchasing power parity or PPP is a measurement of prices in different countries using the prices of specific goods to compare the absolute purchasing power of the countries’ currencies.
  • The report said evidence from Colombia to India indicates that financial security and ownership of land improve women’s security and reduce the risk of gender-based violence, hereby indicating that owning land can empower women. It further said indigenous children in Cambodia, India and Thailand show more malnutrition-related issues such as stunting and wasting.
  • In India different responses in parent behaviour as well as some disinvestment in girls’ health and education have led to higher malnutrition among girls than among boys as a consequence of shocks likely linked to climate change.

3 . Constitutional Right to Protest

Context : The Supreme Court on Thursday said farmers have a constitutional right to continue with their “absolutely perfect” protest as long as their dissent against the controversial agricultural laws did not slip into violence.

Constitutional Provision

  • The right to protest peacefully is enshrined in the Indian Constitution—Article 19(1)(a) guarantees the freedom of speech and expression;
  • Article 19(1)(b) assures citizens the right to assemble peaceably and without arms.
  • Article 19(1)(3) says this right is subject to “reasonable restrictions” in the interest of public order. Reasonable restrictions are :
    • If the security of the state is in jeopardy;
    • If the friendly relationship we share with a neighbouring country is at stake;
    • If public order is disturbed;
    • If there is contempt of court;
    • If the sovereignty and integrity of India are threatened.

4 . CMS-01

Context : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully placed into a transfer orbit India’s 42nd communications satellite, CMS-01, carried on board the PSLV-C50, from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota Range

About CMS 01

  • CMS-01 is a communications satellite envisaged for providing services in extended C Band of the frequency spectrum and its coverage will include the Indian mainland and the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands,
  • The satellite is expected to have a life of over seven years.
  • The satellite was injected precisely into its pre-defined sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) and in another four days, it will be placed into its specified slot in the geosynchronous orbit after a series of manoeuvres
  • Satellite would act as a continuation of the GSAT-12 launched 11 years ago.

PSLV- C51

  • Next launch, the PSLV-C51, would be a special mission for ISRO as the vehicle would carry the country’s first private sector satellite under the space reforms programme
  • The first satellite from Pixxel India named ‘Anand’, will be launched on board the PSLV-C51.
  • Two more satellites, ‘Satish Sat’ from Space Kidz India and ‘Unity Sat’ from a consortium of universities will also be launched.

5 . Article 356

Context : The Supreme Court stayed an Andhra Pradesh High Court order intending to embark on a judicial inquiry into whether there is a constitutional breakdown in the State machinery under the Jagan Mohan Reddy government, requiring a declaration of President’s rule.

About the Case

  • An order was passed by the Andhra Pradesh high court (HC) which had sought assistance of the state government asking whether it can record a finding that “constitutional machinery has broken down there.
  • The appeal filed by the state government against the high court’s October 1 interim order came up for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde which stayed further proceedings in the matter before the high court.

State’s Argument

  • The bench was hearing the state government’s appeal which said that in the interim order, the high court in an unprecedented manner and without any basis or pleadings by any of the parties to that effect has framed the following question: “on the next date, the learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the state may come prepared to assist the court as to whether in circumstances, which are prevailing in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the court can record a finding that there is constitutional breakdown in the State or not.
  • The appeal said that under the Constitution, Article 356 deals with the provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in state.
  • Under this Article if the president, on receipt of report from the governor of a state or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, the president can impose president’s rule,” it said.
  • This is a power exclusively vested in the executive. The power in this regard like sending a report either to the president or to the governor or to record a finding in that regard cannot be exercised by the judiciary
  • It said the high court desired to consider the question as to whether there is failure of constitutional machinery in the state while hearing habeas corpus petition.
  • A habeas corpus plea is a petition filed to ensure a person under alleged illegal detention is brought before a court to determine if the detention is legal.
  • It is most respectfully submitted that the aforesaid question framed by the high court is not only unprecedented, but is also uncalled for, violative of the basic structure of the Constitution

About Presidents Rule

  • The imposition of Article  356 of the Constitution on a State following the failure of constitutional machinery is called President’s Rule in India. 
  • Under this Article if the president, on receipt of report from the governor of a state or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, the president can impose president’s rule
  • Once the President’s Rule has been imposed on a state, the elected state government will be temporarily dissolved, and the Governor, who is appointed by the government at the Centre, will replace the Chief Minister as the chief executive of the State.
  • The state will fall under the direct control of the Union government, and the Governor will continue to be head the proceedings, representing the President of India – who is the Head of the State.
  • Article 356 is inspired by sections 93 of the Government of India Act, 1935, which provided that if a Governor of a province was satisfied that a situation had arisen in which the government of the province cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the said Act, he could assume to himself all or any of the powers of the government and discharge those functions in his discretion.
  • The imposition of the President’s rule requires the sanction of both the houses of Parliament. If approved, it can go on for a period of six months. 
  • However, the imposition cannot be extended for more than three years, and needs to be brought before the two houses every six months for approval.

How long President’s Rule can last

  • A proclamation of President’s Rule can be revoked through a subsequent proclamation in case the leader of a party produces letters of support from a majority of members of the Assembly, and stakes his claim to form a government. The revocation does not need the approval of Parliament.

When can President’s Rule be imposed on a state?

  • State Legislature is unable to elect a leader as Chief Minister
  • If the ruling party or coalition does not have numbers to prove majority in the Assembly.
  • If the breakdown of law and order situation takes place in the state.
  • Loss of majority in the state assembly
  • If elections are postponed due to inevitable reasons.

6 . E20 Fuel

Context : The government proposed the adoption of E20 fuel as an automobile fuel in order to reduce vehicular emissions as well as the country’s oil import bill.

About E 20 Fuel

  • Ethanol is a biofuel and a common by-product of biomass left by agricultural feedstock such as corn, sugarcane, hemp, potato, etc.
  • E20 fuel means blending of 20 per cent of ethanol with gasoline as an automotive fuel.
  • The current permissible level of blending is 10% of ethanol though India reached only 5.6% of blending in 2019.

Benefits

  • It will help in reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, etc.
  • It will help reduce the oil import bill, thereby saving foreign exchange and boosting energy security

About Ethanol

  • Ethanol, an anhydrous ethyl alcohol having chemical formula of C2H5OH, can be produced from sugarcane, maize, wheat, etc  which are having high starch content. In India, ethanol is mainly produced from sugarcane molasses by fermentation process. Ethanol can be mixed with gasoline to form different blends.
  • As the ethanol molecule contains oxygen, it allows the engine to more completely combust the fuel, resulting in fewer emissions and thereby reducing the occurrence of environmental pollution.
  • Since ethanol is produced from plants that harness the power of the sun, ethanol is also considered as renewable fuel.

7 . Solar winds

Context : One of the biggest cyberattacks to have targeted US government agencies and private companies, the ‘SolarWinds hack’ is being seen as a likely global effort. 

About Solar wind hacks

  • The ‘SolarWinds hack’, a cyberattack recently discovered in the United States, has emerged as one of the biggest ever targeted against the US government, its agencies and several other private companies. In fact, it is likely a global cyberattack.
  • News of the cyberattack technically first broke on December 8, when FireEye put out a blog detecting an attack on its systems
  • the attacker primarily sought information related to certain government customers.” It also said the methods used by the attackers were novel.
  • It was not limited to the company but had targeted various “public and private organisations around the world”.

Mode of operation

  • This is being called a ‘Supply Chain’ attack: Instead of directly attacking the federal government or a private organisation’s network, the hackers target a third-party vendor, which supplies software to them. In this case, the target was an IT management software called Orion, supplied by the Texas-based company SolarWinds.
  • The hackers gained “access to victims via trojanized updates to SolarWinds’ Orion IT monitoring and management software”. Basically, a software update was exploited to install the ‘Sunburst’ malware into Orion, which was then installed by more than 17,000 customers.
  • Attackers relied on “multiple techniques” to avoid being detected and “obscure their activity”. The malware was capable of accessing the system files. What worked in the malware’s favour was it was able to “blend in with legitimate SolarWinds activity”.
  • Once installed, the malware gave a backdoor entry to the hackers to the systems and networks of SolarWinds’ customers. More importantly, the malware was also able to thwart tools such as anti-virus that could detect it.

8 . Facts for Prelims

BOSS & IMSAS

The Border Surveillance System (BOSS), which Singh handed over to Army chief General MM Naravane is an “all-weather” electronic surveillance system successfully designed and developed by Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun and has been deployed at Ladakh border area for day and night surveillance. It facilitates monitoring and surveillance by automatically detecting the intrusions in harsh high-altitude sub-zero temperature areas with remote operation capability, according to the DRDO.

Indian Maritime Situational Awareness System (IMSAS), which was handed over to Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh is a “state-of-the-art, fully indigenous, high performance intelligent software system” that provide Global Maritime situational picture, marine planning tools and Analytical capabilities.

Right to Health

  • Right to health is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Nowcasting Model

  • Central banks track various macroeconomic indicators for forward-looking assessment of the state of an economy. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an important component for policy analysis. However, data relating to GDP are released with a lag and the release calendar is often asynchronous with the monetary policy calendar. In the absence of any real-time information on GDP, ‘central banks’ adopt different strategies to deal with the data gaps. Forecasting is one option which can provide forward-looking guidance on economic growth. Model-based forecasting is often criticised for limited information content, while incorporating a larger information set brings in the problem of dimensionality. The other approach, namely ‘multiple indicator’ approach, is governed by tracking high-frequency data of economic indicators. The challenge arises when different indicators depict diverging scenarios about the state of the economy. In such a situation, summarising the information content from a larger information set and incorporating only the relevant information in the forecasting model provides a viable solution. Such an approach is called as nowcasting.

Vaccine Hesitancy

  • Refers to delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccine services.
  • Is complex and context specific varying across time, place and vaccines.
  • Is influenced by factors such as complacency, convenience and confidence

Vaccine Registration Documents

  • The Union Health Ministry listed out the documents that can be used for registering to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
  • Beneficiaries can produce driving licence, health insurance smart card issued under the scheme of the Labour Ministry, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) job card, official identity cards issued to MPs, MLAs and MLCs, PAN card, bank or post office passbook, passport, pension document, service identity card issued to employees by the Union or the State government or public limited companies and voter ID cards.

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