Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- RBI Rate hike
- Article 161
- Annual report on vital statistics
- Delimitation Commission
- Facts for Prelims
1 . RBI Rate Hike
Context : Interest rates in the banking system are set to go up after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday (May 4) jacked up the Repo rate, the main policy rate, by 40 basis points to 4.40 per cent and the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 4.50 per cent to suck out liquidity and bring down the elevated inflation. However, the central bank retained the accommodative monetary policy in an unscheduled meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)
Details of the Monetary Policy
- Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had in an off-cycle meeting reviewed the latest economic developments including the impact of the war in Ukraine and decided to increase the policy interest rates in a bid to curb accelerating inflation.
- The MPC, however, retained its ‘accommodative’ policy stance even as it focuses on withdrawal of accommodation to keep inflation within the target range while supporting growth.
- As part of the withdrawal of accommodation, the RBI also raised the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 4.5% with effect from May 21 so as to drain surplus liquidity of about ₹87,000 crore.
- As part of the increases, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate would become 4.15% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) and bank rate would be 4.65%.
- These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4% within a band of +/- 2%,” the MPC noted.
What will be the impact?
- Equated monthly instalments (EMIs) on home, vehicle and other personal and corporate loans are likely to go up. Deposit rates are also set to rise after the Repo rate hike that came after nearly four years.
- By hiking the Repo rate and CRR, the RBI is aiming to keep inflation – which is already close to 7 per cent — at its desired level, and control and monitor money flow into the banking system at a time when the global economy is facing turbulent times.
What does the Repo rate hike mean?
- The hike in Repo rate – the key policy rate of RBI or the rate at which it lends to banks – means the cost of funds for banks will go up. This will prompt banks and NBFCs to raise the lending and deposit rates in the coming days. However, analysts say that consumption and demand can be impacted by the Repo rate hike. The RBI last hiked the Repo rate by 25 bps to 6.50 per cent in August 2018.
- SBI and many banks recently raised the MCLR (marginal cost of funds-based lending rate) points anticipating a rate hike. “It is necessary for monetary policy to focus on the withdrawal of accommodation,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday.
What will be the impact of the CRR hike?
- CRR is the percentage of depositors’ money that commercial banks have to mandatorily park with the Reserve Bank. The 50 bps hike in CRR will suck out Rs 87,000 crore from the banking system. The lendable resources of banks will come down accordingly.
- It also means the cost of funds will go up and banks’ net interest margins could get adversely impacted. If the RBI wants to infuse more liquidity into a system, it lowers the CRR and leaves banks with more liquidity to lend. If the RBI wants to suck out liquidity from the system, it increases the CRR rate.
2 . Article 161
Context : The Supreme Court disagreed with the Central government’s suggestion that the court should wait till the President took a call on Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict A.G. Perarivalan’s mercy plea referred to him by the Tamil Nadu Governor for a decision.
About the Issue
- A.G. Perarivalan was 19 years old when he was arrested in June 1991, accused of having bought two battery cells for Sivarasan, the LTTE man who masterminded the conspiracy to kill former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. The battery cells were used in the bomb that killed Gandhi.
- Perarivalan had remained on death row for 23 years, before the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence, along with that of two other convicts, to imprisonment for life in February 2014. This was after the court noted that successive Presidents had taken more than 11 years to decide on their mercy petitions.
- The governor took more than two years to reach this conclusion — the Tamil Nadu State Cabinet had advised him in September 2018 to order the release of several convicts in the case.
- Perarivalan had sought a pardon from the erstwhile governor, K. Rosaiah,, in 2015. In 2018, the Supreme Court had told governor Banwwari Lal Purohit to take a decision
- However, as an affidavit from the Ministry of Home Affairs reveals, Purohit had referred the plea to the President, citing that he was the competent authority to take a decision on the matter.
- Giving its prima facie opinion on this referral, the bench observed orally that the governor’s decision could set a bad precedent wherein every decision could be referred to the Union government, bypassing the state government entirely.
- Experts feel the governor could have taken a call on Perarivalan’s plea, relying on his constitutional powers under Article 161, and even opined that by not taking a call, the governor was “abdicating his exercise of power”.
Articles 72 and 161
- Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution empower the President of India and the governors of states to grant pardon or suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases.
- Under Article 72, the President has the power to “grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence”. He can do so in all cases where the punishment or sentence is handed down by a court martial, in cases where the punishment or a sentence is for an offence under any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the Union extends, and in all cases where a death sentence is awarded.
- Article 161 grants the governor the power to “grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence”. The governor can do so for any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the State extends.
3 . Annual report on vital statistics
Context : Ladakh recorded the highest sex ratio at birth in the country in 2020, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tripura and Kerala, according to the annual report on Vital Statistics based on 2020 Civil Registration System report.
About the Report
- Civil Registration is a continuous, permanent, compulsory recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events, like births, deaths and still births.
- These vital statistics are invaluable for planning, monitoring and evaluating various programmes related to primary health care, family planning, maternal and child health, education etc. Nevertheless, information collected through registration process about vital events provides useful and important statistics.
- Vital Statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System’ provides an overview of the working of the Civil Registration System (CRS) in the country and presents a compilation of data on registered births, deaths, infant deaths and still births with rural-urban & sex-wise break-up and sex ratio at birth based on Civil Registration Records.
Key Statistics
- “Highest Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) based on registered events has been reported by Ladakh (1,104) followed by Arunachal Pradesh (1,011), A&N Islands (984), Tripura (974), and Kerala (969),” the report released by the Registrar-General of India on Tuesday said. Sex ratio at birth is the number of females per thousand males.
- The lowest sex ratio was reported by Manipur (880), followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (898), Gujarat (909), Haryana (916) and Madhya Pradesh (921).
- In 2019, the highest sex ratio at birth was reported by Arunachal Pradesh (1,024), followed by Nagaland (1,001), Mizoram (975) and A&N Islands (965), and the lowest sex ratio was reported by Gujarat (901), Assam (903), Madhya Pradesh (905) and Jammu & Kashmir (909).
- The sex ratio at birth of registered events is an important indicator to map the sex differential of the population at the beginning of their life. The sex ratio at birth has been calculated after deducting the delayed registration of more than one year for the year 2020,” the report said. None of the States or UTs have recorded sex ratio at birth below 880.
- The report noted that 1,43,379 infant deaths were registered in 2020 and the share of rural areas was only 23.4%, while that of urban areas was 76.6% in total registered infant deaths. “Non-registration of infant deaths in rural areas was a cause of concern,”
4 . Delimitation Commission
Context : A commission set up by the Centre submitted its final report for the delimitation of Assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Why was the commission set up?
- Delimitation became necessary when the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 increased the number of seats in the Assembly. The erstwhile J&K state had 111 seats — 46 in Kashmir, 37 in Jammu, and four in Ladakh — plus 24 seats reserved for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. When Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory, J&K was left with 107 seats, including the 24 for PoK. The Reorganisation Act increased the seats to 114 — 90 for Jammu & Kashmir, besides the 24 reserved for PoK.
- In the erstwhile state, delimitation of parliamentary constituencies was governed by the Constitution of India and that of Assembly seats was carried out by the then state government under the Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957. After abrogation of J&K’s special status in 2019, the delimitation of both Assembly and parliamentary seats is governed by the Constitution.
- The Delimitation Commission was set up on March 6, 2020 . Headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, it has the Chief Election Commissioner and J&K’s Chief Electoral Officer as members, and J&K’s five MPs as associate members. The time given to the panel, initially one year, was extended several times as the National Conference’s three MPs initially boycotted its proceedings. The first draft recommendations on January 20 suggested an increase of six Assembly seats for Jammu and one for Kashmir; on February 6, it submitted its second draft report.
Why has the exercise been controversial?
- Constituency boundaries are being redrawn only in J&K when delimitation for the rest of the country has been frozen until 2026. The last delimitation exercise in J&K was carried out in 1995. In 2002, the then J&K government led by Farooq Abdullah amended the J&K Representation of the People Act to freeze the delimitation exercise until 2026, as in the rest of the country. This was challenged in the J&K High Court and then the Supreme Court, both of which upheld the freeze.
- Again, political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have been pointing out that the Delimitation Commission is mandated by the Reorganisation Act, which is sub judice.
- Also, while delimitation as a rule is carried out on the basis of Census population, the Commission said it would take certain other factors into consideration for J&K, including size, remoteness and closeness to the border
What changes have been made?
- Assembly : The Commission has increased seven Assembly seats — six in Jammu (now 43 seats) and one in Kashmir (now 47). It has also made massive changes in the structure of the existing Assembly seats.
- Lok Sabha : The Commission has redrawn the boundaries of Anantnag and Jammu seats. Jammu’s Pir Panjal region, comprising Poonch and Rajouri districts and formerly part of Jammu parliamentary seat, has now been added to Anantnag seat in Kashmir. Also, a Shia-dominated region of Srinagar parliamentary constituency has been transferred to Baramulla constituency, also in the Valley.
- Kashmiri Pandits : The Commission has recommended “provision of at least two members from the community of Kashmiri Migrants (Kashmiri Hindus) in the Legislative Assembly. It has also recommended that Centre should consider giving representation in the J&K Legislative Assembly to the displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, who migrated to Jammu after Partition”.
5 . Facts for Prelims
Shigella
- Shigella is a bacterium that belongs to the enterobacter family — a group of bacteria that reside in the intestine, not all of which cause disease in humans. It mainly affects the intestine and results in diarrhoea, sometimes bloody, stomach pain, and fever.
- The infection spreads easily as it takes only “a small number of bacteria to make someone ill”, says the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is a food- and water-borne infection, and can happen when someone consumes contaminated food — like in the case from Kerala — unwashed fruit or vegetables.
- The disease is easily spread by direct or indirect contact with the excrement of the patient. You can get the infection if you swim or take a bath in contaminated water
World Food Prize
- The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world.
- Leading climatologist, agronomist, and former farmer Cynthia Rosenzweig has been named the 2022 World Food Prize Laureate for her pioneering work in modeling the impact of climate change on food production worldwide.